As Kain paced through the sprawling warehouse, his eyes took in the endless treasures lining the shelves while his mind was constantly making comparisons and weighing the pros and cons of each object.
With the Starlight Bind Barrier already selected, he now had two choices remaining.
With Kain’s affinity for microorganisms, he had expected for there not to be a suitable spiritual creature to contract in the warehouse—he was correct.
However, despite the fact that he was preparing to form his fourth star space and had no clues on a potential fourth contract, Kain was not discouraged. Instead, he focused on the other objects within the warehouse.
He also happened to have an inkling already about what his next item for exchange would be.
When touring all of the shelves briefly upon entering, he felt a slight reaction from the mysterious seed he’d gotten from Mr. Evergreen months ago.
Once he sent his consciousness into the System’s Laboratory, which he’d taken to using as a storage space for living things or particularly valuable objects, Kain saw that the seed emitted a soft, green glow, reacting subtly to something nearby.
He took it out of the laboratory and was finally able to better identify the source of its abnormal reaction: the Heartwood Catalyst, a fist-sized crystalline sphere encased in roots and faintly glowing with golden light.
According to the item’s description, the Heartwood Catalyst was a unique treasure capable of awakening dormant potential in spiritual plants, particularly rare seeds. It could nurture and accelerate growth, and unlock hidden abilities. The description alone would have piqued Kain’s interest, but the resonance with the seed sealed his decision.
Kain had already tried numerous times in various locations to grow the seed, but it never showed any sign of germinating—not even with the assistance of Queen and Eve.
Perhaps what it needed was this catalyst.
With his second choice pretty much confirmed, Kain needed to make his final selection—however, this was much more difficult than the previous two selections.
He moved to the section dedicated to spiritual skills. Most were combat-oriented, their pages described aggressive techniques, elemental strikes, and defensive barriers. Yet, none of them so far aligned with Kain’s needs perfectly.
Although they would all boost his strength greatly, after all only the best of the best techniques were stored in this warehouse; none were so exceptionally unique that he’d be filled with a lifelong regret for missing out on them…
That was until he finally found that irreplaceable technique.
At the far corner of the shelf, tucked away as though forgotten by time itself, he spotted an unassuming, tattered book that he must have missed on his first walk-through of the warehouse. Read latest chapters on empire
Its cover was worn to the point of illegibility, and the faded bindings barely held the ancient pages together. A faint but strange aura surrounded the book, one that seemed to unconsciously repel the gaze of passersby and reduce its presence, but once it was noticed it seemed to draw him in, daring him to come closer.
The description plate beneath the book was sparse, as though whoever cataloged it had struggled to classify the skill:
“Threads of Destiny: An unfathomably rare spiritual skill. Few have ever successfully learned it.” Kain read aloud.
Kain picked up the book to read it and eventually concluded that the skill granted the user several abilities, each ability unlocked with each level of greater mastery of the skill.
It was also the only time Kain had seen a skill with the fate-attribute, and considering his recent exposure to Serena’s contract with that same attribute, he was further intrigued by the skill.
The first level of mastery would allow the user to perceive the threads of fate present around all living and non-living things with the exertion of spiritual power.
The second level of mastery would allow the user to subtly influence their own strings of fate to slightly improve their luck and increase the likelihood of fortuitous encounters.
The third level would allow the user to influence the threads of others, affecting the outcomes and actions of others in subtle yet profound ways. For example, bringing up the time two lovebirds were originally destined to meet or temporarily decreasing the luck of a certain target. Although it can’t prevent inevitable events, like the destined meeting of two individuals, it would allow the user of the skill to bring forward or delay that meeting.
Supposedly, there are higher levels of the skill as well, but nobody except for the skill’s founder had ever managed to surpass the third level of mastery. In fact, it is considered one of the most difficult spiritual skills in existence. And the idea that it could be fully mastered at all remains as speculation.
Although, the description does say that the success rate of learning this skill is extremely low, and if Kain can’t learn it then it would be a wasted exchange, Kain couldn’t resist the mystical effects in the skill’s description.
For most people, attempting to cultivate such a skill would be akin to chasing a mirage in the desert. But for Kain, the challenge itself made the choice all the more compelling. After all, while inferior or different versions of the other skills in the warehouse may exist outside available for purchase, nothing remotely resembling this skill could probably be obtained without connections to the top individuals within the empire or extreme luck.
As he reached out to pick up the book, his fingers tingled, and for an instant, his vision blurred. Dimly glowing lines, almost imperceptible, shimmered in the air around him before vanishing. The fleeting vision left his heart pounding and his curiosity burning.
“This one,” Kain murmured. “I’ll take this.”
All of his choices selected, Kain rang the bell by the entrance to report his choices to the escorting professor.
When the professor saw his choice of skill, a trace of surprise flickering across their face. “An ambitious choice,” they said, their voice tinged with a mixture of admiration and caution. “Few would dare to attempt the Threads of Destiny. I hope you understand that the chances of anything coming from exchanging it are quite low.”
“I do,” Kain replied. His tone was calm but resolute. After all, if it was a common, easy to learn skill, he wouldn’t have wanted to exchange for it.
The professor nodded slowly. “Then may fate be kind to you, Kain.”